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HUNTER

W olverines were nasty, fearless fighters who would often take on a bear over a meal and win, but only in cases where the bear had nothing to lose.

And Hunter had everything to lose.

That was his mate that had just nearly been tossed off the unfinished porch, and Hunter had had a visceral reaction to the idea that Jay would burn down the house as part of his unhinged vendetta.

This is our den, his bear insisted. We built it for our mate!

Hunter couldn’t spare the concentration to argue semantics with a bear that didn’t understand property ownership; he was trying to keep his eyes and tender nose out of Jay’s reach and still get a grip on something meaningful with his own pointy parts.

He didn’t want to kill Jay, but Jay seemed to have no such compunction; his bites were deep and determined.

Hunter rolled Jay under him and nearly took them both off the porch, saving them at the last moment with claws in wood planks.

Jay gave a squeal and let go, and Hunter pounced.

His bear arms had considerably more reach than wolverine legs, and Jay scrabbled and snarled and scratched uselessly at Hunter’s thick fur.

They were at an impasse, Hunter unwilling to end Jay, but Jay uncooperative about surrender.

“Watch out!”

Hunter looked up to find Trixie holding a nail gun in both hands. She was carrying it backwards, not connected to the hose, and while Hunter watched in awe, she used it like a golf club to hit Jay in the top of the head, rattling his teeth and knocking him out cold.

Hunter shifted back to his human form.

“That,” Trixie panted, “is why we wear hardhats on the job site.”

“You are amazing,” Hunter said in awe.

“And you’re bleeding!”

His fur had not protected him from all of Jay’s strikes, but Hunter ignored his own injuries until they had trussed Jay up with duct tape tight enough to hold him in either shape and hauled him down the ladder.

“We’re turning him over to the authorities,” Hunter said reluctantly. “We shouldn’t let him die of exposure.”

“It would be a lot easier,” Trixie complained, hauling her half of the body. “Can’t we just cover him with a blanket here and call the troopers to come get him?”

Hunter conceded that this was a fine plan. They could corroborate that Jay had attacked Trixie, and Hunter was certainly injured. He could get Feather on a stand to testify against him, though he wasn’t sure how reliable a witness she would be.

They left Jay in a heap on the first floor with everything but his head tucked under an army blanket and stepped outside to make the call.

The trooper arrived with sirens and lights by the time Trixie had cleaned out most of Hunter’s gashes. “I hope he didn’t have rabies,” she said sourly.

Hunter recognized the man at once as another shifter. He was a silver-haired man who looked like he’d seen more in his life than he wanted to, and they exchanged crisp, frank details about the incident.

The trooper went in with his gun drawn and came out shaking his head. “He’s gone. Looks like he shifted the duct tape with him to human and got out the back.”

Trixie looked from one of them to the other. “You’re a… wait, you can shift stuff with you? How does that even work?”

“I never thought about it that direction,” Hunter admitted. “But I take everything I’m wearing and holding with me as a human, it makes sense that it works both ways.”

“I’ll put a warrant out for your partner,” the trooper said with a sigh. “But it seems likely that he’ll make a run for it. I’ve got a contact with a shifter agency that takes care of cases like this. I’ll give him a call and see what he can do. You need medical assistance?”

Hunter shook his head. “It would bring up more questions than anyone wants.”

“You, ma’am?”

Trixie shook her head. “I think I’m fine. Unless you need me to go in for evidence?”

“Shifters handle things a little differently,” the trooper said with a shrug. “They’ll make sure he doesn’t cause any more trouble.”

Hunter shook his hand and saw him back to the patrol car.

“This poor house,” Trixie said. “It’s not even finished yet, and it’s seen more drama than a soap opera. ”

“I’m going to buy this house,” Hunter said thoughtfully, to his bear’s delight.

Trixie stared at him. “You’re serious.”

He grinned at her. “I’ve never built anything before, and frankly, I’ve gotten attached. Would you like to live with me here? Maybe get married? Fill it up with kids and tourists and books?”

Trixie’s face glowed. “You’ve got a funny sense of courtship,” she said, laughing. “Let’s just skip straight to the house, why don’t we. You know there’s a lot of work left to do, right? There’s the plumbing and the wiring, all the insulation, not to mention drywall, painting, and trim.”

“I’m not afraid of hard work,” Hunter said firmly. “I finish things.”

“You don’t even know if Carthridge wants to sell!”

“Anything is for sale at some price,” Hunter said expansively. “You just have to make the right offer.”

Trixie’s face twisted. “Not like Jay.”

“His was an insulting offer,” Hunter said. “Even before the threat of arson. Hopefully, mine is a little better than that.”

“Much better,” Trixie assured him, and then she stepped into his embrace. “I love the idea,” she admitted. “I love the idea of a home with you.”

Our den, with our mate , Hunter’s bear said.

Hunter wasn’t sure which one of them was most content.